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| February 02, 2007 | Friday | Muharram 13, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan must not be blamed for Taliban: Musharraf RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 2 (Agencies) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told a news conference on Friday that his country should not be blamed for a resurgent Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, and said Taliban leaders were not in Pakistan. Musharraf said the Taliban were an Afghan problem. But suggestions Pakistan's security agencies or military were helping the Taliban were “preposterous”, he said. Pakistan is to fence 35 kilometers of its northwestern border with Afghanistan” in seven or eight different pieces” to stop the movement of Taliban militants, Musharraf announced. He added that a plan to lay mines along the border was still under consideration. Pakistan also plans to fence 250 kilometers of the frontier in Balochistan province at a later date, he added. Musharraf admitted that some members of the security forces had turned a “blind eye” towards Taliban militants launching attacks in Afghanistan. But the president called on NATO and US forces based in Afghanistan to do more to tackle the problem. “We refuse to take full responsibility for crossing of the border,” he said. Musharraf acknowledged that Mullah Dadullah, one of Taliban militia's top commanders, had been on its territory. “Thrice we tried to get him and thrice we failed,” he said. (First Posted @ 15:35 PST Updated @ 16:32 PST)
Pakistan-India relations better than ever: Musharraf RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 2 (AP) President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told a news conference Friday that relations have never been better between Pakistan and India. Musharraf said confidence-building measures under a peace process were going well and that he was “fairly optimistic” the two governments would be able to move forward to resolve all their disputed issues, including Kashmir. “Our relations have never been this good before in our history, and we ought to be happy about that,” he said. “We are very glad the people of Pakistan and India want peace. This is another good sign…All the decision-makers on both sides have realized that military (action) is no longer an option by any one of us. Pakistan cannot be coerced militarily. The only way forward is resolution of all disputes,” Musharraf said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Taliban militants overrun Afghan town KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb 2 (AP) Taliban militants overran a southern Afghan town where a peace agreement had been negotiated last fall, disarming police, burning the government compound and threatening elders, officials and a resident said Friday. A resident of Musa Qala said 200-300 Taliban fighters had overtaken the town, seized weapons from the police and destroyed the government center late Thursday. (Posted @ 23:26 PST)
U.S. helicopter goes down north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb 2 (AP) A U.S. helicopter went down in Iraq on Friday, the military said. U.S. forces, meanwhile, said 18 insurgents were killed Thursday night and Friday in Ramadi. No civilian or U.S. casualties were reported, the military said. Elsewhere in Anbar, gunmen assassinated the chairman of the Fallujah City Council. (Posted @ 23:12 PST)
Three U.S. soldiers die in Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb 2 (AP) Three U.S. soldiers died in two separate vehicle accidents in Iraq, the military said Friday. A soldier died of injuries sustained Thursday when a vehicle rolled over, the military said in a statement. Two more soldiers also died Thursday as a result of a vehicle accident on the edge of Baghdad, the statement added. (Posted @ 22:52 PST)
Multicolored snow falls over Siberia MOSCOW, Feb 2 (AP) Strange colored snow that fell in three different Siberian regions is not toxic and may have been caused by dust and soils blown into the atmosphere from neighboring Kazakhstan, a Russian emergency official said Friday. The snow, which fell Wednesday afternoon, was yellow, green and orange and covered more than 100 square kilometers in at least three provinces, the official added. (Posted @ 22:40 PST)
Serbian president rejects U.N. Kosovo plan BELGRADE, Serbia, Feb 2 (AP) The Serbian president on Friday rejected a U.N. plan for Kosovo, saying it “opens the possibility of independence” for the breakaway province. The proposal “does not explicitly mention independence for Kosovo, but it also does not mention territorial integrity of Serbia,” the president complained. (Posted @ 22:35 PST)
U.N. rights chief attacks amnesty for Afghan warlords GENEVA, Feb 2 (AP) The United Nations human rights chief Friday criticized a plan by Afghanistan's parliament to grant an amnesty to warlords and others accused of war crimes in a quarter-century of bloodshed in the country. The measure could lead to warlords who committed serious war crimes going unpunished, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said. (Posted @ 21:58 PST)
US not planning war with Iran: Defense Secretary WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (AP) Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that the decision to send a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region does not mean the United States is planning for a war with Iran. Gates told Pentagon reporters that the movement of the carrier is to demonstrate that America is committed to the Gulf region. He also said that he has not seen any credible proof yet that any Iranians were involved in the ambush last week in Karbala that left five U.S. soldiers dead. (Posted @ 21:58 PST)
Iraq faces 'daunting' challenges in next 18 months: US WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (AP) Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation in the next 12 to 18 months, the National Intelligence Estimate, a collaborative report by 16 U.S. spy agencies, released on Friday said. The report also concludes that growing polarization, inadequate security forces and a propensity to use violence as a tool are creating a daunting situation. The estimate warned of grave consequences from events that could trigger even more violence, such as sustained mass killings, the assassination of a religious or political leader. (Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Govt bridging energy gap between supply, demand: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Feb 2 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday said as a result of high growth achieved during the last few years, the energy demands of the country had grown and the government was making all efforts to bridge the gap between demand and supply. He was chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy at PM House here. Aziz said the CCE had been set up to make efforts for energy management and to take policy initiatives to meet the demand and encourage investments. (Posted @ 21:54 PST)
Fifteen injured in Hyderabad train mishap HYDERABAD, Feb 2 (APP): At least 15 passengers including three women and two girls received injuries when six coaches of Allama Iqbal Express derailed near Latifabad Railway Crossing here on Friday evening. (Posted @ 21:52 PST)
Up to 27 militants killed in Afghan violence KABUL, Feb 2 (AFP) Up to 27 militants were killed Friday in separate clashes with Afghan police and US-led coalition forces in the latest violence to hit Afghanistan, officials said. Twenty Taliban were killed after a seven-hour gun battle with a police convoy in the western province of Farah, an interior ministry spokesman said. Separately, US-led troops and aircraft attacked a group of militants preparing to launch a rocket attack in Paktika province’s Bermel district and killed up to seven rebels Friday, the coalition said in a statement. A militant was killed and another was injured late Thursday when a bomb they were planting on a roadside went off prematurely in eastern Kunar province, police said. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Bus crash kills 19 in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Feb 2, (AFP) At least 19 passengers died and 23 were injured on Friday when an overcrowded mini-bus skidded off a highway and plunged down a steep gorge near Dabbar village in Rajouri district. Thirteen of the injured were in critical condition. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)
Four Indian policemen killed in occupied Kashmir ambush SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 2, 2007 (AFP) At least four policemen were killed Friday and three hurt in an ambush by unknown persons in southern Pulwama district, police said. Hizbul Mujahedin claimed responsibility for the attack in telephone calls to local media. (Posted @ 20:42 PST)
Twenty-one killed in Gaza fighting GAZA CITY, Feb 2 (AFP) Fighting between rival Palestinian factions across the Gaza Strip left 21 people dead in the past 24 hours. Fifteen people died Friday, including a 38-year-old woman killed in crossfire outside her home, two teenagers, three presidential guardsmen and a deputy intelligence commander General Abdelqader Salim in Jabaliya. Six Palestinians, including four pro-Fatah security officers and a Hamas activist, were killed on Thursday and around 185 people have been wounded. Also Friday, a massive fire broke out at the Islamic University in Gaza City, after it was stormed by presidential guards overnight. (First Posted @ 09:22 PST Updated @ 20:40 PST)
Abbas calls for 'immediate' end to Palestinian fighting RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 2 (AFP) Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday called for an immediate end to fighting between his Fatah faction and the rival Hamas. “I call on all Palestinians, whatever their political allegiance, to stop shedding the blood of the Palestinian people,” he told reporters in the West Bank political capital of Ramallah. (Posted @ 20:28 PST)
President Musharraf to visit Iran, Turkey ISLAMABAD, Feb 2 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf is to visit Iran and Turkey next week to discuss the situation in the Middle East and issues in the Muslim world, the foreign office said Friday. It did not give exact details of when he would travel. “He will exchange views with the leadership of the two countries on the Middle East situation, particularly the Palestine problem, Iraq and other challenges confronting the Muslim world,” a foreign office statement said. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
China offers aid for 'peaceful resolution' of Darfur conflict KHARTOUM, Feb 2 (AFP) Chinese President Hu Jintao offered Sudan assistance in the peaceful resolution of the Darfur conflict Friday. Following talks between Hu and Sudan’s President Beshir, China agreed to offer 40 million yuan (5.2 million dollars) in unspecified aid and materials for the peaceful resolution of the Darfur question, the radio reported. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Chirac calls for 'green revolution' at Paris conference PARIS, Feb 2 (AFP) French President Jacques Chirac opened a Paris conference on world environmental governance on Friday with a call for a green “revolution” to meet the challenges of global warming. “Soon will come a day when climate change escapes all control. We are on the verge of the irreversible,” Chirac told the meeting. “Faced with this emergency, the time is not for half measures. The time is for a revolution -- a revolution of consciousness, a revolution of the economy. A revolution of political action, ” he said. (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Tornado catches Florida by surprise, killing two MIAMI, Feb 2 (AFP) A deadly tornado ripped through central Florida early Friday, tearing roofs off buildings, smashing homes and leaving thousands without electricity, local officials said, with at least two people reported dead. Authorities were opening shelters for residents affected by the storm. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Global warming to last 'more than a millennium': UN PARIS, Feb 2 (AFP) Global warming was almost certainly caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries to come, an authoritative UN climate report warned Friday. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the Earth's surface temperatures will likely rise between 1.8 Celsius to 4 C and sea levels increase 18 to 59 cm by 2100, the report concluded. The scientists also predicted increasingly intense storms, heat waves and heavy rains in the decades to come. The exhaustive study by 2500 scientists from more than 100 countries said that sea rises are predicted to shrink both the Arctic and Antarctic. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Teargas ends occupied Kashmir protest over police killings SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 2 (Reuters) Indian policemen fired teargas shells to disperse Kashmiri protesters at a graveyard where two bodies were exhumed on Friday as part of an investigation into killings of innocent in staged encounters, witnesses said. Protesters pelted police with stones, shouting “Stop fake encounters ... Down with police”. Police fired teargas shells to disperse them, witnesses said. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Blair refuses to quit over cash-for-honors probe LONDON, Feb 2 (AFP) British Prime Minister Tony Blair refused Friday to resign over an intensifying “cash-for-honours” police probe despite fears within his Labour Party about its “corrosive” political fallout. Blair told the BBC he intends to continue with his policy reform agenda until handing over to his successor in the party. (Posted @ 17:18 PST)
Merkel heads to Middle East to exploit 'opportunity' BERLIN, Feb 2 (AFP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel sets off on Saturday for a four-day tour of the Middle East with hopes high that the current voice of the EU and G8 can nudge along the faltering peace process. Merkel will visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to use what she has called “a window of opportunity” for Israeli-Palestinian peace. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
Cricket: England beat Australia by 92 in one-dayer SYDNEY, Feb 2 (AFP) England spectacularly revived hopes of playing in the triangular one-day series finals with a breakthrough first tour win over Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground Friday. The tourists crushed the Australians by 92 runs to keep alive their chances of leapfrogging New Zealand into this month's best-of-three finals. Match scores: England 292 for 7 (50 overs), Australia 200 for 9 (38.5 overs) (First Posted @ 13:01 PST Updated @ 17:14 PST)
U.S. delivers eight attack helicopters to Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 2 (AP) The United States delivered eight attack helicopters to Pakistan on Friday. The Pakistan army took possession of the Cobra AH1-F helicopters in a ceremony at Qasim air base, near the capital, Islamabad, the U.S. Embassy said. It said they were part of a US$50 million deal for a total of 20 refurbished helicopters. The refurbished helicopters, which are specially equipped for nighttime operations, are “important weapons in our common fight,” U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said at the hand over ceremony, according to an embassy statement. (Posted @ 16:42 PST)
Iran denies blocking UN nuclear inspectors TEHRAN, Feb 2 (AFP) An Iranian official Friday denied reports that Iran was blocking UN nuclear inspectors and that 3,000 centrifuges were being installed at a key enrichment site. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Israeli troops kill four Palestinians RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 2 (Reuters) Israeli troops killed four armed Palestinians in West Bank Friday in two separate clashes, the army said. Two of the Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Ramallah suburb of Bitounia. A senior Palestinian security official said the two men were members of the Preventive Security force. In a separate incident in the city of Ramallah, the Israeli army killed two other Palestinians. (FirstPosted @ 09:21 PST, Updated@ 13:02 PST)
Militants slay man in North Waziristan MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Feb 2 (Reuters) Suspected militants cut the throat of an Afghan refugee accused of being a U.S. spy in Pakistan's North Waziristan region’s Masharkot village (10 kilometres north of Miranshah) , and dumped the body in a sewer, witnesses said Friday. (Posted @ 12:09 PST)
Bush's Iraq 'surge' could swell to 48,000 US troops while Casey disagrees WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (AFP) President George W. Bush's plan to add 21,500 troops in Iraq could actually result in an increased US military force in Iraq of up to 48,000 troops, a congressional report concluded Thursday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that when non-combat support troops are taken into account, the actual number of additional troops deployed in Iraq could reach between 35,000 and 48,000. The CBO said the administration's “surge” in troops could cost between 20 billion to 27 billion dollars over the first 12 months of the deployment. “I would say that the estimate provided by the CBO in their worst case scenario is far above what is needed,” said a senior Pentagon official, who requested anonymity. While General George C. Casey, the top US commander in Iraq said Thursday Baghdad could be secured with fewer US troops than called for by President George W. Bush, and defended his past reluctance to ask for reinforcements. Casey said his “general view” was that more US forces prevents Iraqi security forces from assuming responsibility for their own country. “My general belief is I did not want to bring one more soldier into Iraq than was necessary to accomplish the mission,” he said. (Posted @ 10:13 PST)
Hillary Clinton calls Iran a threat to U.S., Israel NEW YORK, Feb 2 (AP) Calling Iran a danger to the U.S. and one of Israel's greatest threats, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said ''no option can be taken off the table'' when dealing with that nation. ''U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal: We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons…in dealing with this threat ... no option can be taken off the table,'' Clinton spoke at a Manhattan dinner held by the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in the U.S., the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. (Posted @ 09:34 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 241.02 points: KARACHI, Feb 2: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 11589.64, up 241.02 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 2: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.87 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST)
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